1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to surgical scalpels and, more particularly, to surgical scalpels having shields or guards to cover the scalpel blade when not in use.
2. Technical Considerations
As will be appreciated by one skilled in the medical arts, sharp surgical instruments, such as scalpels, provide a significant potential for harm to surgeons, nurses, and other support personnel. The rapid handling of these sharp instruments can lead to accidental cuts or puncture wounds during surgery. In order to address this problem, blade shields have been developed to cover the scalpel blade when the scalpel is not in use. The shields can be retracted to expose the blade when needed.
While early blade shields did help reduce the potential for accidental cuts or puncture wounds, there were some problem areas. For example, some of the blade shields were awkward to operate, often requiring two hands to operate. Others included complex mechanical mechanisms to move the shield, which mechanisms could be prone to mechanical failure.
Improved scalpel blade protection devices were subsequently developed to address these issues. These scalpel systems provide improved handling and safety features compared to the earlier devices. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,053,929 discloses a surgical scalpel system having a handle and a cartridge removably mounted on the handle. The cartridge includes a blade holder and a shield. Another surgical scalpel is disclosed in PCT WO 01/05312. This scalpel has a handle that can be attached to a guard containing the scalpel blade. Examples of other known scalpels having blade shields or covers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,250,064; 5,342,379; 5,527,329; 5,938,675; 5,938,676; and 5,919,201. While these systems provide some advantages over the earlier blade protection devices, improvements could still be made to these devices.
Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide a surgical scalpel assembly that reduces the complexity of prior known scalpel devices and which also provides additional safety and manufacturing benefits over known scalpel systems.